By Nancy Mills

WHEN COSTCO MEMBER Gayle Formanwrote If I Stay, a young adult novel about ateenager who must make a life-altering deci-sion, she was leery of a movie version. “Why,given all the pitfalls, would I want that?” shewondered. “It would be terrible. That’s whathappens with adaptations.”But when Hollywood came knocking anddirector R.J. Cutler jumped on board, Formanchanged her mind. “A couple things he saidwhen we met the first time told me that he gotthe book on many different levels—howimportant Mia’s relationship was with her par-ents and how important the love story was,” shesays. “We all worked hard to translate the emo-tional experience to the film. This may actuallybe an authentic representation of what’s on thepage, and the fans seem to love it.” So does she.

Starting with the book

If I Stay stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Mia,
a talented cellist applying to Juilliard. Jamie
Blackley plays Adam, her boyfriend and a
budding rock star. When Mia lands in a coma
after a tragic car crash, she has an out-of-body
experience that allows her to revisit her life.

“There are definite changes from thebook,” says Forman, who closely consultedwith screenwriter Shauna Cross. “The keywas keeping that love story. I miss some of thefamily scenes, but I understand why theywere taken out.”“The book leans more to a global familystory,” Cross says. “The family story is stillpart of the movie, but the romance is a biggerpart. It’s a love story about a first love.”Before Cutler was hired, two other direc-tors were attached to If I Stay. “Whoever’s incharge—it’s their vision,” Cross says. “As ascreenwriter, I’m ultimately serving their vision.

“Adaptation is about creating the same
emotional journey in a different medium.
The book is a road map of the emotional
beats you want to hit, but if you hold too tight
to it you’ll get scenes that don’t work. You let
it take on a life of its own, and that’s when
magic happens.”

Making the transition

A fan of the book If I Stay, Moretz, 17,
credits the director with the successful translation. “He brought a realism to this movie
that otherwise could have been very silly and
sci-fi,” she says.

If I Stay is Cutler’s first feature. Much of
his previous film work has been in documentaries. “I’ve worked with hundreds of thousands of hours of raw footage, and I’m always
looking for real and truthful moments because
I know the strength they have,” he says.

“R.J.’s documentary experience gave hima different sensibility about how he wanted totell the story,” Forman observes. “I gave a lotof notes. One way an author can help is bybeing the quality control for the characters.I’ve been living with them for eight years. Tome, the film’s characters feel like the charac-ters in the book.”Cutler didn’t worry about fan reaction,because he felt he was the only fan thatcounted: “I wasn’t thinking, ‘I’ll do x becausethe fans will like it.’ It’s because I will like it.”

Finishing touches

Ditto for the music. Cutler previously
served as a producer on Nashville, the TV
musical drama. “I knew from R.J.’s work on
Nashville that he really got the music element,” Forman says. “It’s almost like another
character. It’s what brings Mia and Adam
together and what pulls them apart.

“I was impressed how he thought outwhat Adam’s band would sound like. Thebook was published in 2009. In 2014 there’s adifferent musical landscape. Because ofi Tunes, a young man would have anything athis fingertips.”“After Gayle saw the first cut of the movie,I asked her what the big difference was to herbetween the book and the film,” Cutler says.“She told me, ‘When you read the book, youcan’t hear the music. Now you can.’ To haveenhanced the experience for her meant somuch to me.” C

Nancy Mills is a Los Angeles–based journalist
who writes about film and television.

The book If I Stay moves to film

In our digital editions

Click here for a discussion of
choosing actors for If I Stay.

(See page 14 for details.)

Left: Chloë Grace Moretz as Mia has an
out-of-body experience while she lies in a
coma in her hospital room. Above: Moretz
as Mia practicing the cello before auditioning for Juilliard.

arts & entertainment

Blu-ray/DVDs
Staying power

The Costco Connection

If I Stay is available in Blu-ray combo pack
(Item #944354) and book (Item #910874) at
all Costco warehouses.